Yuvraj dropped for Kiwi tour; Stuart Binny, Ishwar Pandey get maiden call-up

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava

New Delhi: The Indian selectors dropped veteran Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh for the upcoming series against New Zealand. Yuvraj – who made a comeback into the Indian squad against Australia in the recently concluded ODI series couldn`t do much after playing an impressive knock in the first match. On the other hand, the selectors decided to reward all-rounder Stuart Binny and pacer Ishwar Pandey for their consistency in domestic cricket. While Binny was included in the ODI squad, the Madhya Pradesh fast bowler has been named for ODIs as well as Tests. The BCCI confirmed the news through their official account on Twitter.

ODI Team vs. NZ- MSD (C), Dhawan, Rohit, Virat, Rahane, Rayudu, Raina, Ashwin, Jadeja, Bhuvi, Shami, Ishant, Mishra, Ishwar, Binny, Aaron

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 31, 2013

The BCCI also announced the squad for the two-match Test series.

Test team v NZ- MSD (C), Dhawan, Vijay, Pujara, Virat, Rohit, Rahane, Jadeja, Zak, Shami, Ishant, Rayudu, Bhuvi, Ashwin, Umesh, Saha, Ishwar— BCCI (@BCCI) December 31, 2013

Team India witnessed a 1-0 defeat against South Africa in the recently concluded two-match Test series. Most of the Indian batsmen failed to prove their credentials, and it was the trio of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane who salvaged some pride for the team with their consistency against South Africa's world class pace attack. The Indian team will now tour New Zealand where they will play five ODIs and two Tests. The tour will kick off with the first ODI, to be played at Napier on January 19, 2014. New Zealand tour itinerary: Jan 19: 1st ODI, Napier Jan 22: 2nd ODI, Hamilton Jan 25: 3rd ODI, Auckland Jan 28: 4th ODI, Hamilton Jan 31: 5th ODI, Wellington Feb 2-3: Warm-up game, Whangarei Feb 6-10: 1st Test, Auckland Feb 14-18: 2nd Test, Wellington.